Asking for a Location
Ask where a place is, understand the 여기/저기/거기 distance system, and check whether something is nearby.
이/가: picking the right particle (just like 예요/이에요)
Remember picking between -예요 and -이에요 based on whether a word ends in a batchim? The subject particle 이/가 works exactly the same way. If the noun ends in a batchim (consonant), attach 이 — 화장실이 어디예요? ('where's the bathroom?'). If it ends in a vowel, attach 가 instead — 카페가 어디예요? ('where's the café?'). This particle marks 'what you're asking about,' and you'll reach for it constantly when asking where things are.
화장실 ends in the batchim ㄹ, so it takes 이. This is one of the most useful survival questions you'll ever ask.
카페 ends in the vowel ㅔ (no batchim), so it takes 가 instead of 이 — same rule as 예요/이에요 from Unit 1.
여기, 저기, 거기: how far, and from whom?
Korean has three words for 'there,' and which one you use depends on distance from the speaker AND the listener. 여기 ('here') is close to you, the speaker. 거기 ('there') is close to the person you're talking to, but not you. 저기 ('over there') is far from both of you — something you'd point at in the distance. If someone's giving you directions to a place you can see from where you're standing, 저기 is almost always the word you'll hear.
있어요 means 'it exists / it's located.' Pair it with 여기/거기/저기 plus the location particle 에 to point someone toward something.
근처 means 'nearby/vicinity.' Ask this as a quick follow-up once someone points you toward something far away — you might prefer a closer option.
지하철역 ('subway station') ends in the batchim ㄱ, so it takes 이. This sets up the next lesson, all about getting around by subway.
A lost tourist stops a passerby on the street to ask for directions
Say it out loud
Listen, then repeat aloud. Matching the rhythm matters more than perfection.